Do you want to enjoy the culinary riches of Italy, but without exhausting your stomach? Here are 9 ideas for light and gourmet Italian recipes!
We may mistakenly believe it Italian food heavy. It is not. Its culinary specialties are rich in flavor, but not necessarily in fat. It is a kitchen that gives pride to seasonal vegetables, fish and spices. Each region has its own specialties and variations of traditional dishes, such as pizza, bruschetta or even focaccia or risotto.
To enjoy the rich flavors of Italian dishes:
- we prefer seasonal vegetablescooked over low heat (so as not to attack or add fat) or prepared as raw vegetables with a light vinaigrette;
- Replace fresh cream with ricottatraditional fresh cheese contains much fewer calories, and the addition of Parmesan is limited to 10 grams per person;
- we do Very finely chopped charcuterieTo enjoy its flavor without consuming too much fat;
- we Cut back on pasta portions Raw 60 to 80gm per person;
- We prefer (if possible) a olive oil Qualitywith their portion determined from 1 to 2 tablespoons per day and for each person (if necessary, add a little water to bind the dishes);
- We enhance the flavors of recipes with traditional balsamic vinegar, which is obviously used in vinaigrettes, but also in the little beats on a pasta dish, pickleif glazed to form a sauce with seasonings (such as sun-dried tomatoes or raisins) after cooking meat or fish, or as a seasoning for fruit salads (one drop is enough!);
- We use and abuse fresh herbs Or dried (basil, thyme, thyme, sage, bay leaf) to add flavor to dishes.
To rediscover some Italian specialties, here are 9 light recipes to savor during these transition weeks between winter and spring.
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© Shutterstock/Marco Mayer
2/9 –
caponata spring
for two people. Mix 2 tablespoons in a bowl. tablespoons icing sugar, half a small cup of wine vinegar, and a tablespoon. tablespoons raisins. Wash a stalk of celery, cut it into small pieces and boil it for a minute in boiling water. Peel the stems of 6 small artichokes and cut off the top of their leaves (about 3 cm from the stem), then remove any tough ones. Then cut the vegetables into 4 (by placing them in a salad bowl filled with water and lemon) before blanching them for 2 minutes in boiling water, then browning them for 2 minutes in a casserole. Then remove, and put in this dish 4 tablespoons of tomato purée, about twenty pitted olives, 1 tbsp. Capers, sugar/vinegar/raisin mixture, celery, artichokes and one handful of pine nuts. Leave to cook for 10 minutes.
© Shutterstock / denio109
3/9 –
Spinach and ricotta cannelloni
Enough for 4 people. Cook 12 cannelloni in boiling salted water for 6 minutes before draining. Also cook 400 grams of chopped raw or frozen spinach in boiling water, meanwhile, fry 1 onion and 1 clove of garlic in a pan. Once the spinach is tender, squeeze and juice it to remove the water, and add it to the garlic and onion. Put everything in a salad bowl, then as soon as the mixture cools down, add 250 grams of ricotta. Fill the cannelloni with this preparation and place in a gratin dish. In a small bowl, mix together a brick of tomato coulis, sliced basil leaves, and salt and pepper. Pour this mixture over the pasta, then sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese, before placing the dish in the oven for 15 minutes at 200 degrees.
© Shutterstock/Brent Hofaker
4/9 –
lemon pasta
Enough for 4 people. Cook 400g of pasta of your choice in boiling salted water, according to the time indicated on their packages. Take the peel of 2 untreated lemons, then squeeze them. Pour the zest into a pan with 200 g of ricotta. Heat everything for 2 minutes before adding lemon juice as well as 40g of Parmesan and pepper. Once cooked, drain the pasta, then mix directly into the sauce to coat. Serve immediately with some parsley or basil leaves.
© Shutterstock / Julia Sudnitskaya
5/9 –
pear italian style
Enough for 4 people. Wash and cut 2 pears in half. In a bowl, combine 125ml of ricotta, peel of one lemon, 1 teaspoon of vanilla (extract or seeds) and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Stuff the pear with this lotion. Bake the fruit for 15 to 20 minutes at 180 ° C. You can then sprinkle the lotion with cinnamon and walnut chips.
© Shutterstock/Maria Kovaleva
6/9 –
Asparagus pizza
Take half a bunch of asparagus, remove the tail and reserve the heads before cutting the stem into pieces. In a saucepan, saute the chops (excluding the heads) with 1 small garlic clove for 2 minutes. Then cover the vegetables with water and leave for 10 minutes (until the pieces are soft). Then add 3 basil leaves, salt and pepper and mix everything to make a cream (if not, keep the vegetables as is). Cut the heads into two parts and saute for 3 minutes in a saucepan with a dash of olive oil. Spread cream of asparagus over one pizza dough, then sprinkle with tops. Bake for 8 minutes at 250 degrees. Then add a few cubes of mozzarella cheese, then continue cooking for 2 minutes. Serve the pizza with a few fresh basil leaves.
© Shutterstock
7/9 –
Fennel and orange salad
Enough for 4 people. Wash 4 fennel and cut it into slices, taking care to remove the tough part at the base of the vegetables. Peel and remove the white part of 5 oranges to restore their shores. Also press ½ an orange, and take back the other half as well. Mix 4 tablespoons of olive oil, orange juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add vegetables and mix everything. Chill power for 20 minutes. It can be served with a few black olives soaked in orange juice.
© Shutterstock / Robin McKenzie
8/9 –
Fennel and orange salad
Enough for 4 people. Wash 4 fennel and cut it into slices, taking care to remove the tough part at the base of the vegetables. Peel and remove the white part of 5 oranges to restore their shores. Also press ½ an orange, and take back the other half as well. Mix 4 tablespoons of olive oil, orange juice, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Add vegetables and mix everything. Chill power for 20 minutes. It can be served with a few black olives soaked in orange juice.
© Shutterstock / olepeshkina
9/9 –
Beet veloute with gorgonzola
Enough for 4 people. Cut 2 cooked beets into pieces, add 5 cl of light cream, 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar and 10 cl of water. Mix everything and season with salt and pepper before refrigerating the velouté. Heat 5 cl light cream with 100 g gorgonzola over low heat in a saucepan until cheese melts. Serve the beet velutée in a bowl and add a little gorgonzola cream in the middle. This dish is accompanied with slices of toasted wholemeal bread.